Adjustable rowing shoe device

ABSTRACT

A device is provided for attaching a rowing shoe to a foot stretcher of a rowing boat. The device has a shoe segment having a first surface for attachment to the rowing shoe and a first locking means. The device also has a stretcher segment having a second surface for attachment to the foot stretcher and a second locking means for releasably engaging with the first locking means. A rowing shoe is also taught, having a shoe segment on a bottom of the rowing shoe for releasable engagement with a corresponding stretcher segment of a foot stretcher of a rowing boat.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/285,553, filed Dec. 11, 2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device for use in engaging or disengaging rowing shoes in rowing boats. The invention also relates to a shoe incorporating the present engagement device.

BACKGROUND

Rowing boats used in the sport of rowing, often called shells, are lightweight and can come in single-rower, double rower, four-person and eight-person configurations. The rowing boats are ordered with all auxiliary equipment, such as seats, rudders, riggers, shoes and shoe frames.

Rowing shoes are generally provided with the rowing boat and screwed onto a frame, called a foot stretcher, which is built into the inside of the rowing boat. The foot stretcher can be slightly adjusted to lengthen or shorten the distance between the rower's seat and feet, thereby providing some limited adjustment to accommodate the rower's length of legs. Typically, the shoes come installed with the boat and shoes are usually custom ordered by professional rowers, along with their boat specifications. In this way the professional rowers gets both a boat and a shoe that are sized for them.

However, the purchase of customized boats and shoes for a particular rower or rowing team is not universal. In the case of amateur rowers and student rowers, such athletes can rarely ever afford to purchase their boats. Instead, they take memberships in local rowing clubs which provide access to a fleet of boats, exercise equipment and rowing times, etc. Rowing clubs generally stock a selection of boats including, men's and ladies' single, double, quad and eight-person boats, all fitted with shoes. In order to maximize usage of the rowing boats in a rowing club's fleet, rowing clubs often order large sized rowing shoes with their boats. Rowers with smaller feet are forced to wear multiple socks in order to fit the shoes. Rowers with large feet make do by not fully wearing the shoe, or leaving their heels out of the shoe. Shoes are only replaced if they become worn out, damaged or otherwise unusable.

A number of problems exist in the present arrangement. Firstly, improper shoe fit makes rowing more difficult and uncomfortable for the rower. Secondly hygiene becomes a concern in circumstance in which multiple rowers are sharing shoes. With the sweat and moisture that inevitably occurs from heavy exertion, foot fungi, athlete's foot and bacterial foot infections are common. When boats are left outside overnight or in the rain, dampness and cold in the rowing shoe also give rowers considerable discomfort. Without proper muscle warm up, rowers can suffer from poor performance, cramping, colds and illness.

There is therefore a need to develop a system for regularly interchanging rowing shoes in rowing boats, to allow rowers to purchase and use their own rowing shoes in common or shared rowing boats.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a device for attaching a rowing shoe to a foot stretcher of a rowing boat. The device comprises a shoe segment having a first surface for attachment to the rowing shoe and a first locking means. The device also comprises a stretcher segment comprising a second surface for attachment to the foot stretcher and a second locking means for releasably engaging with the first locking means.

The present invention further provides a rowing shoe comprising a shoe segment on a bottom of the rowing shoe for releasable engagement with a corresponding stretcher segment of a foot stretcher of a rowing boat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detail, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the shoe segment of the present device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the stretcher segment of the device;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are cross sectional views, illustrating one embodiment of the positioning aids; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the second locking means of the stretcher segment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to detachable rowing shoe device that allows users to quickly and easily engage and disengage rowing shoes in rowing boats. The present invention also relates to rowing shoes built with the present device.

The present device can be simply retrofitted onto existing rowing shoes and rowing foot stretchers. Alternatively, the device can be incorporated into newly configured shoes and foot stretchers that allow for quick engagement and disengagement. The device is preferably sized to fit within bottom footprint of the rowing shoe, plus allowing some room for movement.

The device comprises two parts, a shoe segment 2 and a stretcher segment 4. The shoe segment 2 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 1 and the stretcher segment 4 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. With reference to FIG. 1, the shoe segment 2 comprises a first surface 6 that is preferably affixable to a rowing shoe, more preferably by screwing the shoe segment 2 to a bottom surface of the rowing shoe, although other means of affixing the shoe segment 2 to a rowing shoe bottom surface can be utilized and are understood to be encompassed by the present invention. Alternatively, it is possible to build the rowing shoe with the shoe segment 2 as an integral part of the rowing shoe.

The shoe segment 2 further comprises a first locking means 8 for releasably engaging with the stretcher segment 4 of the device. Preferably, the first locking means 8 comprises a slot, as seen in FIG. 1 or a series of holes (not shown).

Optionally, the shoe segment 2 further comprises positioning aids 10 that allow the position of the rowing shoe on the foot stretcher to be adjusted. The positioning aids 10 may be incorporated as part of the first locking means 8 or as part of the first surface 6. In the first case, the first locking means 8 can comprise a series of holes for receiving one or more pins from the stretcher segment 4. Position of the rowing shoe is determined by the position of the pins along the series of holes.

More preferably, the positioning aids 10 are comprised of multiple positioning ridges 12 on the first surface 6 that interact with corresponding ridges on the stretcher segment 4 to allow for positioning and adjustment of the rowing shoe on the foot stretcher, to account for the position of the rower's legs. By allowing this adjustment it is possible for the rower to optimize their power input into each stroke. The positioning ridges 12 may be of any suitable cross-section, including but not limited to triangular, square, rectangular or waveform. Most preferably, as seen in FIG. 3 a the positioning ridges 12 are square or rectangular in cross section.

With reference to FIG. 2, the stretcher segment 4 of the device comprises a second surface 14 which can be affixed to a foot stretcher in a rowing boat. The stretcher segment 4 is preferably screwed onto the foot stretcher, although other means may be used and would be obvious to a person of skill in the art. Alternatively, the foot stretcher may be built with the stretcher segment 4 as an integral part of the foot stretcher. The stretcher segment 4 is preferably affixed to the foot stretcher in such a way that allows for pivoting of the stretcher segment 4 on the foot stretcher. Most preferably, as seen in FIG. 2, one screw 16 is used to pivotably affix the stretcher segment 4 to the foot stretcher, where in the one screw 16 acts as a pivot point. This pivoting desirably allows for corresponding pivoting of the rower's foot and ankle, to account for differing stances as well as differences in rowers' leg shape and bone alignments. Although the second surface 14 of the stretcher segment 4 is depicted in FIG. 2 as having an extending portion on which the screw 16 is affixed, this is merely one optional embodiment, used particularly for rowers in the steering position. It is also possible for the second surface 14 to omit this extending portion and have a more rectangular shape, similar to the first surface 6.

The stretcher segment 4 comprises a second locking means 18 of releasable engaging with the first locking means 8 on the shoe segment 2 of the device. Preferably, the second locking means 18 comprises one or more pins 22 that are inserted into a slot or a series of holes in the first locking means 8. Further preferably, the pins 22 are elastically connected to the stretcher segment 4, so that they provide some resistance to being inserted into the first locking means 8 and are only releasable from the first locking means 8 when actively unlocked by the rower. This helps to ensure that once locked, the shoe segment 2 of the device will not accidentally become disengaged from the stretcher segment 4 during rowing. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, elasticity is preferably imparted to the pins 22 by means of semi-flexible strips 24 from which the pins 22 protrude. Further illustrated in FIG. 4 are tabs 26 at the ends of the semi-flexible strip 24 that can be engaged by the rowers' thumbs or fingers to release the pins 22 from the slot or series of holes. In this preferred embodiment, the semi-flexible strips 24 may be bent by hand to restore resistance and elasticity, if the strips 23 should lose some resistance over time. It will be understood that other means are conceivable for imparting elasticity and resistance to the pins in engagement with the first locking means 8, and that such means are also considered to be encompassed by the present invention.

In one embodiment, the second locking means 18 engage with positioning aids 10 on the first locking means 8 to allow the position of the rowing shoe on the foot stretcher to be adjusted. In this embodiment, the first locking means 8 can comprise a series of holes for receiving the one or more pins from the stretcher segment 4. Position of the rowing shoe is determined by where along the series of holes the pins are inserted.

More preferably, the stretcher segment 4 comprises multiple positioning ridges 20 that interact with corresponding positioning ridges 12 on the shoe segment 2 of the device to allow for position adjustment. The positioning ridges 20 may be of any suitable cross-section, including but not limited to triangular, square, rectangular or waveform. Most preferably, as seen in FIG. 3 b, the positioning ridges 20 are square or rectangular in cross section.

The shoe segment 2 and the stretcher segment 4 can be made of any suitably lightweight and durable materials commonly known in the art. Suitable materials can include but are not limited to metals and/or metal alloys, plastics and plastic composites, plywood, particle board, resins, laminates, aramids such as Kevlar™ and fibreglass. Suitable metals and alloys can include aluminum, aluminum alloys, titanium and titanium alloys. Alternatively, the shoe segment 2 and the stretcher segment 4 can each be made of multiple materials, for example a metal with a plastic or resin attached thereto. Most preferably, the segments are made of a metal such as aluminum, with a ridged sheet of plastic or resin attached thereto, the ridges forming one preferred embodiment of the positioning aids 10.

In use, the rower would simply wear their personal rowing shoes, with the shoe segment 2 of the present device attached thereto, position his or her feet in a comfortable position relative to the seat of the rowing boat and then lock the shoe segment 2 to the stretcher segment 4 that is already affixed to the foot stretcher in the boat. The shoe segment 2 of the device will stay locked to the stretcher segment 4 until released by the rower. When finished, the rower can take his or her shoes with them, and the rowing boat can be used by another rower.

EXAMPLES

The following examples serve merely to further illustrate embodiments of the present invention, without limiting the scope thereof, which is defined only by the claims.

The present device was tested at the Calgary Rowing Club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The devices were installed on a heavyweight pair's rowing boat in the bow position and in a lightweight quad rowing boat, in the stroke position. Both rowing boats were tested over a full rowing season, which lasted about 6 months. The boats were used by both men and women, wearing rowing shoes provided by the Rowing Club. The rowers reported noticing little difference in performance with the present device. A number of rowers appreciated the ability to wear shoes that fit their feet properly and also the ability to pivot their feet to a comfortable position for rowing.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with specific embodiments thereof; however, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A device for attaching a rowing shoe to a foot stretcher of a rowing boat, the device comprising: a. a shoe segment comprising a first surface for attachment to the rowing shoe and a first locking means; and b. a stretcher segment comprising a second surface for attachment to the foot stretcher and a second locking means for releasably engaging with the first locking means.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the shoe segment further comprises positioning aids that engage with corresponding position aids on the stretcher segment to allow positioning of the rowing shoe along the foot stretcher.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the first locking means comprises a slot and the second locking means comprises one or more pins for insertion into the slot.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the shoe segment comprises a series of holes that act as both the locking means and the positioning aids, and the second locking means comprises one or more pins for insertion into the holes at predetermined positions that correspond to desired positions of the rowing shoe along the foot stretcher.
 5. The device of claim 3, wherein the position aids comprise a series of ridges formed along the first surface of the shoe segment that engage with corresponding ridges formed on the second surface of the stretcher segment to allow positioning of the rowing shoe along the foot stretcher.
 6. The device of claim 3, wherein the one or more pins are elastically affixed to the stretcher segment.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the one are more pins are affixed to the stretcher segment by a semi-flexible strip that imparts elasticity to the one or more pins as they engage the first locking means.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the pins are manually engaged to and released from the slot.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the shoe segment and the stretcher segment are made from one or more materials selected from the group consisting of metals, metal alloys, plastics, plywood, particle board, resins, laminates, aramid and fibreglass.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the metals and metal alloys are selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum alloys, titanium and titanium alloys.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein the shoe segment and the stretcher segment are made from metal and plastic.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the shoe segment and stretcher segment are made from aluminum and resin.
 13. The device of claim 5, wherein the shoe segment and the stretcher segment are made from metal and the ridges are made from resin or plastic.
 14. A rowing shoe comprising a shoe segment on a bottom of the rowing shoe for releasable engagement with a corresponding stretcher segment of a foot stretcher of a rowing boat. 